Laura Zigman Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Laura Zigman is an American journalist and chick lit author from Boston, Massachusetts. She was brought up in Newton, MA, took “The Radcliffe Publishing Procedures Course” and went to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She spent a decade working as a publicist for a book publisher in New York before burnout set in and she moved to Washington DC. In DC she got a job at “Share Our Strength” and the “Smithsonian Institute” even as she wrote her debut novel “Animal Husbandry.” Zigman’s debut novel is some type of autobiographical novel that went on to become a bestseller and was made into a film titled “Someone Like You.” She would later write several titles that were thinly veiled and autobiographical including “Dating Big Bird” and “Her.” Laura then wrote a novel based on her experience as a publicist titled “Piece of Work” that was optioned by Playtone Pictures. She has also been involved in freelance ghostwriting and is a contributor at “The Huffington Post” and “The New York Times.” She is also a co-host of “Hash Tags,” an NPR affiliated show alongside Julie Klam and Ann Leary. As a woman of many talents, she also has a YouTube channel where she produces Xtranormal videos and has also produced her first screenplay. She has also been a ghostwriter for the likes of Eddie Izzard and Wendy Davis after she made her name with a few self-help novels.

Zigman started out as a professional editor and publicist for some of the biggest publishers such as Knopf, Vintage Books, and Times Books. She has asserted that working for the publishers has been significant in helping her become the author she is today. Laura learned about how much effort and time goes into writing a novel and how heartbreaking the process can be even when you have done your best. It was even harder for Laura Zigman who had to do all that, while having to juggle writing with a huge workload at the day job. It was quite a challenge finding time to write “Animal Husbandry” or even just think. Unlike many people who try to work after in the evenings or at the weekends after coming back from a 9-5, she just could not hack it. She was too tired and her mind was full of the stress and noise of the day and hence she resorted to writing in chunks. Laura took advantage of her vacations to write huge chunks at a time and finally got her debut published in 1997. Zigman also says that one of the best things about her is the ability to mislead herself about her talent. In an interview with “Borzoi Reader,” she asserted that she would often tell herself she was a genius and it was this part of her personality that had helped her keep working even when things were not going so great.

Laura Zigman’s “Animal Husbandry” is the story of Jane who meets and falls in love with Ray, a colleague at work. But despite her optimism, she is soon dumped by the love of her life and left confused and all alone, even as Ray does not bother to offer any explanation. With no place to live, she moves in with Eddie a notorious womanizer that has been nicknamed the modern Marlboro Man. Seeking to find healing by understanding why men like Ray behave in such despicable ways, she sets out to research them. Jane comes up with a theory that men are like bulls in that once they have sex they are no longer interested in the cow. This she calls the “Old Cow New Cow” theory. According to the theory, a man will date a woman for several years or months but ultimately they will seek out a fresher younger and newer woman/cow. Women may try to disguise themselves as a fresher younger version of themselves but a bull knows which cow is younger and fresher by instinct. Through the lead character, the novel tells of Jane who has to finally accept that men will be men and that she has to accept their nature while looking for love as an older woman. While it sounds grim, it is a funny, quirky and all-around enjoyable novel, even if it can sometimes be heart-wrenching.

“Dating Big Bird” by Zigman tells the story of Ellen Frack who was overjoyed when her sister tells her that she is pregnant. She immediately falls in love with the child when she is born and knows that she wants one of her own. But Ellen is 35 and unmarried and her clock does not care that she hates the term “biological clock” as it continues ticking. Her chances of getting a child are diminishing with each passing year as she is in love with a broken man who has not proposed despite a yearlong relationship. Since her bitter divorce that was soon followed by the death of his child, he finds it difficult to form close relationships with anyone. He is afraid of loving and losing and the prospect of loving and then losing another child terrifies him. As such, when Ellen asks him to get a child with her he runs off abandoning the relationship altogether. She discusses her options with her sister and friends and comes to the conclusion that being a single parent would not be great for her child or her. Still, she needs to make a decision and fast before the window for getting a child closes. The novel tells a wistful and tender story of many modern women who are just like Ellen. For many women, settling often becomes a means to an end though even more decide that it is worth it having a child even if they have to go it alone.

In “Her,” Elise the lead meets a dreamy 6 foot 6 man with unflinching green eyes on a flight to Washington DC. Donald is a teacher in the capital and she is an editor for self-help books. It is not long before the two are deeply in love, engaged and soon talking about a wedding. But then she gets to meet Adrienne, Donald’s leggy and stunning ex fiancé who is planning on moving back to Washington since she is recently single. She is a half-French woman with a Yale degree and a penchant for charming women by baring cleavage and one flick of hair. The fact that her fiancé remained good friends with her for all these years makes Elise even warier. She is convinced that the wily Adrienne intends to seduce Donald and make him hers again. Thus begins an obsessive stalking routine that unearths what Elise believes is a brazen affair.